1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a device for poaching and serving eggs that have been removed raw, with the yolk unbroken from their shells so that in the placing of the uncooked egg in said device, the egg can be placed whole into said device for poaching thereof, in which said device is particulary adapted on minimizing the spreading of the uncooked egg white as liquid slowly flows into said device, when said device is placed into a pan and a simmering liquid is added to said pan thereby keeping the egg compact during the poaching thereof and to further facilitate easy serving of the egg or eggs.
2. Description of Prior Art
In poaching eggs, it is desirable to minimize the spreading of egg white thereof and keep the egg compact. No special equipment is required for poaching, other than a skillet or pan containing a simmering liqiud, which is usually water. The difficulty arises in the careful skill required in sliding the raw egg into the liquid thereof, and still keeping the egg compact. Eggs not placed skillfully into the poaching liquid will have a straggley outline thereof and require trimming for an eye appeal presentation. This problem is further compounded and made more difficult if the egg is more than one week old. Because of this problem, many cooks, skilled in the art of poaching, stir the poaching liquid to create a whirlpool before sliding the egg into the pan, this said whirlpool helps to keep the egg compact, however by using this method, only one egg can be poached at a time. Still another method is to carefully fold the white over the yolk as soon as the egg is placed in the simmering liquid. Heretofore it is apparent that the poaching of eggs requires the carefull skill of the cook.
Many so-called paching pans that are available with built in small cups and supported above the simmering liquid to contain the eggs, do not actually poach. The eggs are cooked by steaming rather than immersion. Therefore the eggs lack the true flavor or a poached egg. Also it has been found that serving the steamed egg from the cup can be very difficult.
Another type of poacher consisted of a shallow ring constructed of thin flat metal with an attached linear handle perpendicular to the horizontal of the ring. Users placed the ring in a pan containing simmering water and they would slide the egg into said ring for poaching. This type of poacher is unsatisfactory because the white of the egg easily slides out from under the bottom of the thin edge of the ring, into the pan. Also, with this type of ring, the egg is being partially poached from the bottom and steamed from the top. Therefore, this device is better suited for use in frying eggs rather than poaching them. Furthermore, because the egg is in direct contact with the surface of the pan, the bottom of the egg develops a rubbery texture, therefore imparting an unsatisfactory taste.
Still another type of poacher consisted of an oblong shallow cup like shape of thin perforated metal, and having four legs protruding from the bottom thereof with an attached linear handle vertical to the horizontal portion of the cup. Users placed the cup in a pan of simmering liquid thereof and then an egg was placed into the cup for poaching. This type of device is unsatisfactory because the white of the egg easily slides through the perforated cup and becomes attached to the holes during poaching, therefore making it very difficult to serve the egg without breaking the soft yolk. This type of poacher is further unsatisfactory because by total immersion, the white of the egg will spread over the top of the poacher creating a straggley outline, therefore requiring trimming in order to create an eye appealing presentation.
Most users, therefore, would find it desirable to have a device that easily poaches through total immersion, keeping the egg compact, and also facilitates an easy method for serving the egg after poaching.